


On Behalf of Every Man (Looking Out for Every Girl)

by SufferHope_GracelessHeart



Series: Conversations in Coffeehouses: The Universe Outside of Oliver Queen (Sorta) [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Conversations in coffeehouses, Episode: s02e14 Time of Death, Father Figures, Felicity Feels, Gen, Lance Family Feels, Paternal Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 07:05:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1378297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SufferHope_GracelessHeart/pseuds/SufferHope_GracelessHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No matter how bad ass his little girl has become, Quentin Lance has to look out for his daughter. What he didn't expect to find was someone else who needed just as much looking out for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Behalf of Every Man (Looking Out for Every Girl)

Felicity walked into the coffeehouse for the first time in months. She couldn’t believe how much had changed since the last time she was here. Before, she was trying to figure out who the woman in black was. She had just saved Detective Lance and his daughter from the Dollmaker and Felicity had contacted him to suggest public meetings weren’t the most prudent course of action. Now, Detective Lance had called her because he wanted to talk and after the week she’d had, if anything else got dropped on their plates Felicity might just breakdown and cry. Lance waved her down from a booth in the back of the coffee shop and Felicity made her way over. 

"Hello, Ms. Smoak. I ordered you a mocha with marshmallows. That’s your thing, right? I can get you something else if that’s a problem." Detective Lance said quickly. Felicity cocked her head to the side inquisitively. If she didn’t know any better (and she knew a lot), she’d say Quentin Lance was nervous, and wow, was it bizarre being on the other side of  _that_ equation. 

"That’s perfect, Detective Lance. You know after all this time you can call me Felicity. I mean if that’s okay with you, because it’s okay with me, Detective." Felicity finished as she moved hands that had been fidgeting wildly into her lap.

Lance looked at her attempt at restraint with a small chuckle. _This girl,_ he thought to himself. Between Laurel’s tenacious, stubborn nature and legal mind and the brutal but serene enigma his youngest former wild-child daughter, Sara had become, Lance thought he’d had plenty of experience with intelligent young women, but Felicity Smoak was a whole ‘nother kettle of fish all together. She was kind and brilliant, a whiz kid with way too much knowledge and skill in that cute, bubbly head of hers. She _seemed_ less harmless than a puppy, but he knew she was a dedicated, fierce aspect of the Arrow’s team. She was a walking personification of “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Even the thought of her brought a smile to his daughter’s often too solemn face, and Quentin had a feeling she was a far more important asset for the Arrow than even he realized.

"I’d say you could call me Quentin, but I think that’d be a bit much for you, so how about we go with Lance, Ms — _Felicity.”_ He replied to her brief nervous grin. 

"Sure, Detect-, yes sir, Lance, I mean." Felicity stuttered a bit. She took a deep breath to calm herself and clear the awkward out of her body. "What did you need me to help you with?" 

At Lance’s inhale, Felicity recognized that kind of breath. It was a breath that said, _My next action is probably going to be quite like an awful train wreck, but I’m committed and I can’t stop it, so please I hope you’ll forgive me. Forgiveness versus permission? Please don’t judge me._ She got that inhale from Oliver. A lot, like damn near everyday. ”It’s a bit of a delicate situation,” Lance started. “And I’m truly sorry for dragging you in the middle of it, but no matter what bad ass things my daughter can do, she’s still my little girl, so I have to ask,” he said.

Felicity looked at him quizzically. ”In case you haven’t noticed I am the high and mighty queen of awkward and uncomfortable situations, but I can’t really help you until you tell me what you need.” Felicity said reaching for her coffee. Unfortunately, it was with her bad arm. Felicity grimaced but tried to cover it by pretending it was a really severe nose itch. Really, way too much time spent with Oliver Queen of the atrocious cover story. It was rubbing off. 

Lance gave her an assessing look before he started again. “You work for Queen—” He stopped himself and began again. “You work for Oliver. And these past few months I’ve seen him change. He’s not still that kid that got on that boat, I know that. It’s hard to accept, but it’s true.” He took a sip of his coffee. “But Sara has been through a lot and as much as he’s changed, I need to know. Is he the kind of man I can trust with my daughter?  Because the last time they were together, it did not end well and Sara is just out of a relationship that ended almost _catastrophically_ and I know Queen -  _Oliver_ is your friend. But I also know you, and despite what you do in your spare time, you’re an honest, good person who sees the truth in others.”

When his words finally sunk in, the enormity of the complication, the _Oliver_ of it all, Felicity was knocked back. She inhaled deeply and looked down at her hands trying to get back her composure. 

The truth was only a small portion of what she was feeling was hurt and it was mixed up with understanding and compassion, fear and caution, not to mention physical pain and frustration at everyone in her life, with the universe for putting her in this position, making her a touchstone for so many people. 

"Felicity? Felicity… Hey Lissy _,_ sweetheart, are you okay?” Lance said in a tone that Felicity had never heard before. It was filled with warmth and concern, and an odd sort of affection that she just couldn’t place. Felicity knew that she had heard this particular tone of voice before, just not ever directed at her and for the life of her, she just couldn’t place it. 

"I’m fine…Lance. I guess I just needed a minute to think about how I was going to answer that." Felicity said looking little more subdued than her normally bubbly self.

"Somehow I think it may have been more than that, but you take your time," he replied. "You don’t have to answer at all if you don’t want to." 

"No, I do. I’m just trying to figure out what I want to say without breaking anyone’s confidence." Felicity said quite deliberately. "I can understand why you’d be worried with what Sara’s been through, with everything that happened  _before._ _"_ She said, mentally envisioning the auditory version of italicized font.

"Oliver’s not perfect and you’ve had a rocky relationship. But the thing that he genuinely worries about most is how his actions affect other people." Felicity spoke slowly, a sharp pang in her heart. "So I can honestly say if he felt that being with Sara would hurt her in the long run, he…wouldn’t do it." Felicity sighed, trying to clear of an ache of sorts out of her chest. "He’s a good man, Detective Lance." She said brushing her hair behind her ears. "He’s my friend."

 _Oh Sara,_ he thought to himself.  _You know how to pick ‘em._ As much as he could see he unintentionally stepped into an emotional mine field with Felicity, _Lissy,_ some paternal part of his mind corrected, he also knew that the woman sitting in front of him was strong and warm, and wanting nothing more than the people in her life to be happy no matter what it cost her. He  _also_ knew that she’d never let anyone coddle her over something as simple as a boy. Two girls of his own had taught him that. And yet, something in her seemed lost, more lost than Queen could have ever caused. So, he decided, if she could share her friend with Sara, Sara could share her father with her.

"Thanks for that, Lissy." Felicity looked up at his second use of the nickname. "Felicity’s a beautiful name." He said answering her look. "But it’s a bit formal. You don’t mind, do you?" 

"Not if I can keep calling you Detective." Felicity shot back. At his _r_ _eally?_ look, she answered. “I like it. And I like remind you that no matter your rank, a detective is exactly who you are. No one should be able to take who you are away from you.” Felicity said quietly but forcefully. _  
_

"Well, okay. But since I dragged you all the way down here to talk about that Queen boy, the least I can do for you is treat you to lunch." He said with a grin. ‘Zat okay with you, Lis?" he said in that familiar but not familiar tone, that made her heart ache - in a good way. "And since I’m buying, you can attempt to spin me a tall tale of how you wound up getting shot." he said, gesturing to her arm. "And then I can track down that other wayward girl of mine and find out what really happened."

"I guess that’d be just fine, Detective." 


End file.
